


i tried.

by checkeredbow



Category: Cinderella Phenomenon (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Ghosts, Horror, M/M, Modern AU, and less scary when I read it in the day, don't take my shipping tags too seriously, it was a lot scarier when i wrote it at night, my ships are all over the place, there are probably SPOILERS for every route, they'll probably change as the story is written, ymmv on horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-07-20 05:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16131038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/checkeredbow/pseuds/checkeredbow
Summary: Fritz moves into a (most probably) haunted apartment in Angielle. No. No, it's definitely haunted. And the ghost doesn't like him.(expect updates on weekends)





	1. Angielle City, Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to RozalynFrozen on tumblr for beta-ing! :)
> 
>  
> 
> (also, apologies in advance for completely butchering how training for the Olympics work...)  
> (end note moved up cause otherwise it goes to the very end of the fic instead ;7;" )
> 
> (related note)  
> I'm going to try and write a bunch so I can update at a good pace TvT since I can't ever pace myself. Tags will be updated as I go, but I tried to put the big ones up first. I'm not sure how violent this story will end up being, but I will note it when it happens. I'm also going with the flow for any romance in the story. Will also update that as it occurs.
> 
> (unrelated note)  
> I know I have a lot of unfinished fics. My goal at this point would be to write multiple chapters to prepare for a more timely update. (I mean, that's the hope anyways.) So it's taking a while.  
> +5 other writing things I'm juggling at the same time.

_Angielle used to be a Kingdom_ , that was honestly all Fritz could remember about the city he was moving to and he had learned that fact years ago in high school. The Kingdom had been absorbed into a larger country and became a mid-sized city centuries ago. Fritz had grown up in the capital and never been to Angielle before.

It should be a good experience.

New place, new people, fresh start...

 

"You have arrived at your destination," the mechanical voice of google maps on his phone announced as he pulled the pickup truck to a stop outside an old building.

"Wow," it was older than he expected. The building was five stories high and _tilted_. The outer bricks were covered in a layer of black pollution from standing in the downtown area of Angielle city for a couple hundred of years. There were even heavier stains under some windows that appear to be water damage over decades. Bits and pieces of the arches above some windows were missing, cracked, or crumbling-- which, Fritz thought, is another way of saying cracked and missing.

No wonder the rent was so cheap.

"Hey! Fritz?" a voice called from above and Fritz looked up to see a redhead smiling down at him from an open window on the second floor.

"Hi?" Fritz smiled back at him as he disappeared from the window. That must be one of his new teammates. Fritz had finally being considered for the Olympic Fencing team and was thus invited to the Angielle for six months of training before they picked the team. For now, he was placed on a Junior team of fairly new recruits.

Which was why he managed to find an empty apartment so close to downtown Angielle.

A member of their Junior team had moved up to a Senior team and moved out a few months ago. As a result, the rest of the teammates living in the building were scrambling to find a replacement. _I'm not really sure why they shared rent on the building rather than individual apartments_ , but maybe it was how the owner presented the lease to them. They were the first ones to message him after he was accepted into the team.

"You made it! We've been waiting forever!" the redhead greeted Fritz as he stepped out of the truck. He gave the truck a look, "Yours?"

"Rental," Fritz laughed.

"Good, because it needs a new paint job. Wait, you don't have a car?"

"I have a bike!"

"It's okay, Garlan drives," he smiles and holds out a hand, "I'm Karma. Garlan and Jurien are out shopping, but I'll introduce them to you later."

"Fritz, as you already know."

"Great, let's go! Let me show you the place!"

"Wait, what about my stuff, can I park... here," Karma had already walked into the building before Fritz finished asking the question, "Hey, wait up!"

 

"There are no elevators?"

"There are no elevators."

"I brought furniture."

"Garlan and Jurien would be happy to help you move."

"Not you?" the stairway was a narrow spiral staircase and each landing was only a tiny alcove for one door. He would definitely have a hard time getting the bed and couch up here.

"Of course not, I already volunteered to stay behind and show you around," Karma answered as he stopped at the fourth door and unlocked it, "Here we are!"

The door opened into the living room, which led into a separate room that Fritz guessed was the dining room, and he could see the kitchen in a door beyond that. Further back were three closed doors. If he remembered right, there were two bedrooms and two full bathrooms, one in the master bedroom and one in the hallway.

"The apartment is much larger than I thought."

"Really? I've rearranged my apartment three times since January and I still don't have enough space for all my stuff."

"Seriously?"

"If you have space, mind if I leave some stuff in your apartment?"

"Sure, it's no problem."

"Oh God, you shouldn't have done that!" a voice floated in from behind them. Both men turned to find a couple walking up the stairs to them.

"Jurien! Back from your date with Garlan?"

"...!" both Jurien and, whom Fritz guessed was, Garlan turned bright red.

"It wasn't a date!" Jurien sputtered as Garlan turned and disappeared into the third floor apartment.

"I think you hurt his feelings," Karma said.

"Shut up! He just doesn't want to deal with your nonsense!" Jurien rolled her eyes and shouldered past Karma, "Anyways! Don't let Karma put his stuff into your apartment! It's a trick! He has _way_ too much stuff and he keeps buying more and more!"

Fritz looked at Karma, "Just what do you need to keep in storage?"

Karma paused for a moment, "...Clothes, makeup, exercise machines, and video games."

" The chameleons!" Jurien smacks him on the arm with the back of her hand and Karma fakes being in pain, "Your damn chameleon plushes!"

"I don't have that many! There's only six in my apartment!"

"Because the other thirty are in mine!"

"That's a lie!"

"Come over here and let's count them together!"

"Hahaha!"

Both Karma and Jurien stopped arguing and looked at Fritz, whom they had both forgotten was still standing there. Jurien cleared her throat, "Anyways, moral of the story is offer storage space to Karma! My name is Jurien."

Both men blinked at her sudden introduction, then broke into snickers.

"What?!"

"Nothing, nothing," Fritz waved his hand and spoke before Karma opened his mouth since he looked as though he was going to prolong their argument, "I'm Fritz. Nice to meet you." It was at this point that he remembered, "Um, could you guys help me move my furniture in from the truck? It's a rental so I have to bring it back by six."

"Yes, Jurien and Garlan would love to," Karma said and dashed into the third floor apartment.

"KARMA!" Jurien yelled and tried to chase him, but had the door slammed in her face instead, "Get out here this instant!" she pounded on the door.

"I-It's okay! I'll treat you guys to pizza after!"

Jurien stopped pounding, "Only if you buy us three pizzas and Karma gets none!"

"Deal!" his wallet may suffer, but this seemed to be the best for everyone.

"Did you say pizza?" Karma yelled from the other side of the door, "Joke's on you, I don't eat that unhealthy crap!"

"Shut up Karma, you'll change your mind later!"

 

It took another two hours before Fritz was happy with the way his apartment looked and drove the truck to Angielle city's sister rental store to the one in the capital. Thankfully, Garlan drove the three of them so Fritz didn't have to bike back to the apartment.

"Who lives on the fifth floor?" Fritz asked on the ride back.

"Huh?" Jurien, who sat in the passenger seat, turned to look at him.

"The fifth floor?" Fritz repeated. There were four members in their team and he's met all three other members. Did he have a neighbor who wasn't on the team?

"What fifth floor?" Garlan asked, his eyes drifting to look at him through the rearview mirror.

Fritz furrowed his eyebrows, "The fifth floor. There are five floors to the building, who lives on the fifth one? You guys said you were missing one person when you messaged me."

Jurien shook her head, "Fritz, I don't know why you think so, but _there is no fifth floor_."

"What?"

"The building has four floors."

"But," there was a panic in his voice and he wasn't sure why. He wasn't crazy, "I saw five rows of windows outside the building and the stairway goes past my apartment."

"...You must've miscounted," Jurien shrugged, "And the stairs only go past your floor to the attic. Before you ask, there are no windows in the attic."

"I..." he didn't think he miscounted, but Jurien and Garlan didn't seem like the type to play a prank on him, "I guess I did."

It was evening by the time they got back to the apartment building and as they each exited the car holding a box of pizza, Fritz found himself counting the windows. _One, two, three, four... wait, did I count the first floor?_ He counted several times, but he deduced that, yes, they were right. There were four floors.

Once inside, they set up three pies of pizza in Fritz's dining room. They didn't finish their first slices when Karma stuck his head through the door and joined them.

"Get out, I already said you get none!"

"Just one! Eat all that and you'll gain weight!"

"Stuff it, Karma!"

"With pizza? Gladly!" Karma grabbed a slice and Jurien proceeded to chase him around the entire building. Afterwards, Jurien gave in and let Karma sit at the table to eat a few slices of pizza with them.

"What do you think of Angielle?" Garlan asked after most of the pizza was gone.

"He's been here for less than a day, you can ask him tomorrow," Karma said.

"Sorry--"

"What are you, the question police? Let him ask."

"Oops, didn't mean to diss your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Well, I--" Fritz turned to answer Garlan when everything turned pitch black.

 

"Holy shit!"

"The power went out?"

"Maybe it'll be back in a few seconds."

The four of them waited in darkness, but the lights didn't come back on. Fritz's eyes were starting to adjust, though. "Where's the breaker? I think I heard the switch open."

"It's in the kitchen," Garlan answered him.

"I'll be right back," Fritz stood up and made his way out of the dining room and into the kitchen. Here, there was a window and light from the streetlamps outside filtered in. Compared to the dining room, he could make out most objects in this room. _That's good, it wasn't a blackout_ , Fritz thought as he looked for the breaker panel. He groped along the walls until his fingers touched cool metal and swung open the panel.

_SQUEAAAKKkk..._

Fritz grimaced at the sound of the panel opening. Those hinges needed to be greased--

"--!"

 

 

_Huuu..._

Fritz felt a cool breath at the back of his neck, heard the sound of someone breathing on him and froze. He could still hear Karma, Jurien, and Garlan talking softly in the dining room far away. Too far away. Why do they sound so distant? But the breathing--

The breathing is right against his left ear and he felt every hair on his body stand up. There was someone behind him. He was frozen, unable to bring himself to turn around and look behind him.

Everything felt cold.

"W-W..." his voice wasn't working right and he felt arms cage him against the wall. The person's body pressed close against him.

"S...St..." Fritz managed to turn his head slightly in the direction away from the window. He saw the light from the streetlamps hit the kitchen floor. He sees his own shadow and...

A black mass behind him.

There. Is. Someone. Behind. Him.

"You," a voice whispered into his ear, fierce and angry and Fritz heard the click of teeth and he could picture, clear as day, the person biting down and grinding their teeth. He felt one of the hands wrap around and reach upwards towards his neck--

"STOP IT!"

His fingers close around the breaker switch and flip it shut--

 

The world lights up in an instant and the presence behind him is gone.

"Fritz?"

Fritz turned to see all three of his teammates looking at him from the dining room. "Th-There was someone. Someone inside the apartment!"

"What?" Jurien stood and Garlan followed suit.

"I... I felt them behind me!"

Their concerned expressions melted into confusion. "I could see you perfectly where I sat," Karma said, "It's a little dim, but there was no one behind you."

"But, I--"

"Maybe you imagined it?" Garlan suggested and Jurien elbowed him, "Ouch! I mean, I believe you might've felt something, but your brain can play some powerful tricks on you. You counted the number of floors wrong this afternoon-- Ouch!" Jurien elbowed him again.

"Why don't you sit down, Fritz?" Jurien offered as she walked into the kitchen, got a cup from the cupboards, poured a glass of water, and handed it to him. Fritz mumbled a thanks and took it with shaky hands. "We'll search through the entire apartment to make sure nothing is here."

"I already said there was nothing--" Karma started, but held back after Jurien glared at him, "Glad to help."

"You don't have to..." Fritz started, but the thought of going to sleep while there was someone else in the apartment made him shiver. After all, he had finally managed to get so far away from... "Sorry," he gave them an apologetic smile, "Do you guys mind doing that for me?"

"No problem at all," Jurien grinned at him.

He could tell that he was being unreasonable, that there was no way someone could've snuck into the kitchen without first passing through the dining room and Karma would've been able to see everything from where he sat. There was no one here. No one. Yet, Fritz knew what he saw and what he felt.

_There's no way any of them could have..._

His thoughts trailed off as the four of them searched the apartment. The bathroom, the closets, under the bed, they searched every nook and cranny together and found nothing. Between the lighthearted bickering and jokes from the three of them, Fritz felt more relaxed.

Finally, Fritz felt comfortable enough to be alone in the apartment. "Thanks, guys. I feel better now, I probably was just imagining things."

"No problem."

"Can we search my room now? I'm feeling uneasy, too."

"Karma, you sleep with a real rapier next to your bed."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"Yea, in fact, what if someone else grabbed it before he wakes up?"

"Garlan, you know he'll be fine!"

The three of them bickered as they left to their own apartments.

 

Fritz grinned as he got ready for bed. He's been in Angielle for less than a day, but he had a feeling that he would enjoy it here. His teammates were nice and friendly, the city looked nice and was rich with history, there seemed to be no end to things to do. ...It'll be a good time.

Once in bed, he reached out and turned off the lights and fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

...?

 

_Crick. Crack._

Columns of fire spiraled upwards into the night.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Someone was screaming at him, he felt a pressure around his throat-- choking--

 

Fritz's eyes snapped open and he tried to push himself off the bed, gasp for air--

"...!"

_Move... I can't move_ , Fritz realized as his eyelids blinked closed again. He was seeing _something_ in his mind's eye, in a dream, perhaps? It was his room, but it was brighter, not the middle of the night. His eyelids flickered and he saw his actual room, dark except for the light passing through the blinds, between moments when he could control those muscles.

"You."

Fritz felt his stomach drop.

That same angry voice. This time, from above.

It was a dream. Or it was reality. Fritz couldn't tell, but there was a pressure on top of his body. Someone was sitting on top of him.

A man with black hair and yellow eyes and...

The man bared his teeth and glared down at him. Fritz felt his throat constrict. "--Gghhk!!" Fritz tried to reach up and pull whatever was choking him off, but he couldn't. His arms were tied down, or crushed, or _something_ was stopping him.

 

"What do you think you're doing with my face, cretin?"


	2. Angielle City, Day 2 pt. 1

"It's alright, Princess. I'll go look for him," he took a deep bow before standing up straight and grinning at her. His grins always made her feel better. Because he always kept his promises, "I'll find him. So don't worry."

"I'm not worried at all," she responded.

"You've had a troubled look all morning, I can tell you're worried."

"I'm not worried!" she insisted, "...It's been snowing all morning and I couldn't see the garden from my window. That's the only thing I'm worried about."

"He'll be fine," he grinned again. Another promise.

"...It's still snowing."

"I'll dress warmly and I'll bring extra clothes. Since I would bet my right arm that _he_ didn't dress warmly."

"..." she was silent for a moment. Then, she told him, "Come back soon."

 

 

Air.

He couldn't breathe.

"H...Help..." the edge of his vision was turning black. Was it possible to pass out in a dream? Was this real?

The man glared down at him with bared teeth, Fritz had never seen anyone look so angry-- never saw _himself_ look so angry. It was his face. The man had the same face as him.

"St... Stop--"

_BAM! BAM! BAM!_

 

Fritz startled awake as daylight streamed into the room. He sat up with a start and gasped for air.

"It was a dream?" he whispered as he looked around the room. The pounding started again at the front door. "Coming!" he called as he stumbled through the hallway and living room to get the door.

"I've texted you five times and have been knocking for ten minutes! We're going to be late for practice!" Karma complained as Fritz opened the door.

"G-Good mor... Ahem," Fritz cleared his throat, gosh his voice was cracking bad this morning, "Good morning. Sorry, my alarm didn't wake me."

"Well, hurry up! You'll have to eat breakfast in the car!"

"You made breakfast?"

"Jurien burnt the toast. She's got some in Garlan's car, why do you think it's always full of crumbs?"

Fritz chuckled, "I'll be right down."

Karma nodded and ran down the stairs while Fritz closed the door and started to get ready for the day. The dream was already disappearing from his mind.  As he stepped into the bathroom and looked into the mirror, however, he was reminded of the man sitting on top of him.

Fritz pulled at his hair. Silver white. "A dream. That was definitely a dream," he mumbled to himself as he left the bathroom. He missed the fact that his reflection lingered a split second longer in the mirror.

 

It was a short hectic ride to the gym where they were practicing. They were late and the coach gave Fritz a quick introduction to the other Olympian potentials. Afterwards, they were split into groups for practice matches. While waiting for opponents between matches, Fritz decided to take a walk around the gymnasium.

It was a multipurpose gym for all types of indoor sports. Basketball, gymnastics, ballroom dancing, and fencing practice. Fritz was sure the gym was used for more that he wasn't thinking of. Today, the main part of the gym had been partitioned off to share with a ballroom dancing competition. Fritz was a bit surprised that the Olympic fencing team couldn't book the gym fully for themselves, but this was the largest gymnasium in the city and many different sports liked using it to practice.

As he paced the halls, he heard music from the competition next door. Curious, he decided to step inside.

He was greeted with the sight of swirling dresses and extravagant movements, feet moving to the beat of the music. The women all wore colorful gowns, a mix of Victorian and modern styles. There were five couples dancing and another ten couples sat in the bleachers outside the dance floor.

For a brief moment, Fritz was mesmerized. He had never seen something so graceful. Fencing was beautiful, but this was something else. The couples weren't fighting against each other, but working together to move flawlessly. For a second, he felt jealous. He wished that he could dance with someone who understood him and worked with him instead of fighting against him.

"Ouch!"

The glamour of the dance floor faded away as one of the couples stopped dancing. There was a girl on the floor, her partner still holding her hand as he bent down to help her up. The music stopped and all couples stopped dancing to look at them.

"Ms. Britton!" one of, whom Fritz assume was, the judges rushed to the girl's side, "Are you alright?"

"I think... I think I twisted my ankle," she grimaced as she squeezed her ankle lightly. Then, she turned to her partner, "Sorry, I got distracted..."

Her gaze drifted across the floor, pass all the other dancers and looked straight at Fritz.

"...?" he must've imagined it, or just happened to lock eyes with her. He averted his gaze. Looked back.

...She was still looking at him.

Fritz swallowed. There was an unsettling feeling in his stomach, an uneasiness that made Fritz want to leave the makeshift room, leave the gymnasium, run all the way back home to hide under the covers. His mouth felt dry and he took a step back. She was still staring at him. His breath hitched and he looked away and dashed out of the room.

"Wait..."

Did she ask him to wait? No, she was probably talking to someone else. He didn't know her. She had no reason to talk to him.

 

"Where's Karma?" Fritz asked after he got back to the part of the gym they were practicing in. Both Jurien and Garlan were standing off to the side while teams were getting together for tournament styled matches.

"Oh," Jurien had a worried look on her face, "He went to the hospital."

"What?!"

"One of his close friends in the ballroom competition got hurt. She hurt her ankle."

"Oh..." the girl he saw earlier. So she knew Karma? That didn't explain why she looked at him, though, "I thought it was just a twisted ankle."

"You saw her?" Garlan asked. When Fritz nodded, he continued, "Oh, right. I almost forgot. She's only a celebrity in Angielle."

"Huh?"

"Being a close childhood friend of Karma probably doesn't help, either. He's pretty protective of his friends," Jurien laughed. There was no humor in it, just concern. Fritz guessed that both Jurien and Garlan knew the injured girl personally as well.

"Anyways, that's Lucette Britton, her father's the mayor of Angielle."

"Britton...?" that name sounded familiar to Fritz, too, despite not being from the city. He didn't care much for politics and didn't know the names of any mayors other than the one of the capital.

"She's from old money, too, that's why Karma knows her."

"There's an age old rumor going around that the Brittons are descendents of the Angielle royal family."

"I believe it, I mean she's rich."

"Plus, her family's full of politicians who have worked as mayors and governors and senators..."

"Why does Karma know her, then?" Fritz decided to interrupt. It seemed like Jurien and Garlan were going to disappear hand in hand down gossip lane.

"Cause Karma's rich, too," Jurien stated like it was obvious.

"He's rich??"

"Why do you think he has so much stuff that it overflows into our apartments?"

"...You have a point," as far as Fritz knew, they should all have the same salary for fencing and although it was a decent amount, they couldn't live as luxuriously as Karma did.

"He's the first son of the CEO of the Almonte Conglomerate."

"I think they secretly own half the country."

"Seriously?"

"No, I think it was more like two-thirds."

"It's a proven _fact_ that they're distantly related to the royal family of Brugantia."

"They had a DNA test, it was on reality TV. I'm surprised you missed it, Fritz, Twitter went crazy for a little while."

"Brugantia doesn't exist anymore," another fact from Fritz's mostly forgotten high school social studies class. And, he supposed, since the royal families that used to rule parts of the countries were long gone, their blood lines (mostly) cut short, anyone found to be distantly related to them would cause a stir.

"He's still related to royalty and he has a lot of money."

"So because they're both rich, they knew each other?"

"Yup."

"Yep."

"Well, their parents were also good friends with each other, so that helps."

"I think she'll be alright," Garlan said, "She just hurt her ankle, right?"

"Yea, a little twist won't stop her from dancing."

"Isn't that the problem? She shouldn't dance on a broken ankle."

Jurien was about to respond when all of their phones buzzed. Fritz unlocked his to find a message from Karma, _can you guys bring all of our stuff to the hospital? left in a hurry forgot to bring stuff._

Then, it buzzed again, _sorry for leaving practice :( we can make it up by staying late tomorrow._

Garlan typed first, _we'll need to beg the coach to find time in the gyms schedule._

Jurien responded next, _we can work that out later. which hospital are you at?_

Karma sent them the address of the hospital he had gone to with Lucette and Jurien went to the ballroom dancing side of the gym to gather Lucette and her dance partner's stuff.

"You don't mind coming, right?" Garlan asked, "I could come back to pick you up."

"As long as the coach allows it, I don't mind coming with you," Fritz gave Garlan a smile, but that was a lie. He didn't want to make Garlan waste time and money to make an extra loop across the city from the gym to the hospital. But he wasn't very comfortable visiting a stranger he didn't know in the hospital. Sure, they had mutual aquaintances, but...

_I can't shake that feeling._

 

"I'll stay here," Fritz said as Jurien signed in at the hospital.

"You sure?"

"Yea, first meeting at a hospital is a bit awkward, right? Haha," Fritz laughed, tried to sound casual. He must've succeeded since they agreed to let him stay in the waiting room.

 

"How are you feeling, Lucette?"

"Perfectly fine, I didn't need to come to the hospital."

"You fractured your ankle," Rod said and shook his head. "Thanks for bringing our stuff here," he said to Jurien and Garlan.

"Yea, thanks! Sorry about running out."

"It's fine, glad you're alright, Lucette."

Lucette looked at the door. After a moment, she turned to Jurien and Garlan, "Where's..." she hesitated, "the other person with you?"

"Huh?"

"The man with the white hair. I saw you guys walk in from the window."

"Oh, he's in the waiting room," Garlan said, "I guess he felt a bit awkward since he didn't know either of you."

"White hair? Is that the guy that was watching the competition earlier?" Rod asked.

"I think so," Lucette said as she reached for the crutch the doctor gave her. It was propped on the wall next to her chair. She had been given a smaller room to rest in. The doctors tried to offer her a larger bedroom, but she told them it wasn't necessary. That she was perfectly fine with a corner room since she didn't think a fractured ankle was worth a night's hospital stay.

"Where are you going?" Karma asked.

"The bathroom."

"Why don't I come with you?" Jurien offered.

"I fractured my ankle, I didn't lose my legs," she retorted. Then, she smiled, "Thank you, I'll be fine."

"Alright," Jurien agreed and Lucette hobbled out of the room.

"She's really changed a lot, hasn't she?" Garlan said once she was out of earshot.

"Yea, I wonder what caused it."

"It doesn't matter, I'm just glad she did," Rod said.

"She's always been kind," Karma defended.

"Weeeell..." Jurien shrugged, "Even if she was, she's become a lot warmer these days." She turned to Rod, "You know something, don't you?"

Rod shrugged, "One day, she suddenly became kinder. I didn't believe it at first, but she's proven herself over the past year." He paused and looked at his feet. Would he be pushing it by telling them this? They weren't the tabloids, thankfully, and they were friends who cared about her. Besides, he wanted to help Lucette, but he could tell that whatever he did was not enough for her. "She thinks we don't know, but both Em and I have heard her crying at night."

"Crying?" Karma's expression hardened, like he was expecting Rod to tell him someone was hurting Lucette and he could run over to their house to stab them with a sword.

Rod shook his head, "I don't know why she's crying. Both Em and I tried to ask her, but she wouldn't tell."

 

 

"I'm back, Princess!"

He stood before her, soaked from head to toe, snow still melting on his hair. He had been gone for the whole day. She would never admit it, but she had been pacing back and forth in the hallway that looked out into the front road, waiting for him to come back.

 

 

Lucette stumbled through the hallway into the waiting room. She still wasn't used to using the crutch. This was the first time she broke (fractured) a bone and the first time she had to use a crutch.

"Varg!"

Multiple heads in the waiting room turned to look at her. None of them were Varg. The white hair man whom all her friends told her was sitting in the waiting room wasn't there.

 

Karma, Jurien, and Garlan's phones buzzed at the same time. Someone sent a message in their group chat, _sorry, something came up. Took an Uber back._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amazing, even when I wrote ahead of time, I forgot to update orz


	3. Angielle City, Day 2 pt. 2

_You didn't tell me you left. Are you sure this is what you wanted?_

 

Fritz didn't want to be near any strangers after he received that text. After he got home, he locked the doors and stayed in his room, staring at his phone.

_Yes, this is what I wanted._

He erased the message.

_Dad said it was okay._

Erased it again.

_Why do I need to tell you anything? Dad's lucky I told him._

Definitely too aggressive.

"Arghhh... I'll deal with this later," he tossed the phone onto his bed out of frustration and walked to the kitchen for a snack. He didn't get the chance to go shopping yet, so all he had were protein bars leftover from the five hour drive to Angielle.

As he flipped the box over to pick out a bar, he felt something brush his arm. The sensation of something cold. He immediately looked to his left. The window was still closed.

"...!"

Fritz flinched as he felt fingers press against his back. He stepped around and raised his legs to kick out against... air?

There was no one behind him.

An uneasy feeling crept through him again. No, no, no, he was just imagining things. It's a new apartment, he's all by himself, it's totally normal to be paranoid.

_Tick Tick Tick_

Fritz was suddenly very aware of every little sound around him. The ticking of the clock, a low hum of electricity, the occasional creak of the old building...

The memory of a nightmare.

"God, I'm just scaring myself," he whispered to himself and walked briskly to his bedroom. Once on his bed again, he unwrapped the protein bar and unlocked his phone. "...?" his messages app was open, just how he left it, but the textbox now had gibberish typed into it. "How did this happen?" Fritz mumbled as he tried to read it. They were definitely not English words, but they were spaced and punctuated like an actual message in a different language.

_Odi te, ut de te non pertinent hic ego pro te mihi quid feceris tibi eos quasi facula reliquum_ , his phone read.

Maybe his phone glitched--

_WHACK!_

Fritz flinched and sat still on his bed. His eyes drifted to the window where the branches of the tree growing by the apartment were scratching against his window. ...When did it get so dark outside? Clouds had covered up the sun and threatened to rain. Based on how much the tree branches were swinging, it was also horribly windy outside.

"They drove so they'll be fine," Fritz mumbled to himself.

Still, he got out of bed and walked to take a closer look outside the window. He focused on the figures outside the window. His bedroom was in the back of the apartment, but on the fourth floor, he was able to see past their backyard and the houses behind them to a bit of the next street over. The next street over was a residential street so there weren't many people walking around. If he wanted to see whether anyone was walking around, he'd have to use the kitchen and living room windows.

His eyes drifted closer, to their own backyard. There was a single garage, which stored Garlan's car and his bike. Seems like that space escaped being Karma's extra, extra storage space. In the corner of the property was a stack of moldy wooden boards. They were propped against the fence that surrounded the property. The white fence was built atop knee high stone wall that stood around the property.

_I wonder how long that's been there_ , Fritz thought and considered asking the others to help move those another day. Mold is probably something they wouldn't want building up in the corner of the yard.

_Shouldn't they be ba--!!_

Fritz refocused his eyes and looked at his reflection in the window. It was only a light outline, but he saw dark hair.

The memories of last night's nightmare came rushing back to him. The man sitting on top of him. Someone with his face, but dark hair. Choking him.

Fritz stared at the window, he had moved back, but his reflection wasn't changing. The face looking back at him was scowling, glaring at him.

Get out.

He had to get out of here.

He ran to his bed and snatched his phone, then dashed out of his room and apartment. He made it all the way down the stairs when he opened the door into Karma.

"Ouch!"

"Oh, shit! I'm sorry, Karma!"

"Yea, you should be!" Karma rolled his eyes.

"Where are you going?" Jurien asked as they all piled into the little apartment lobby.

"I, um--" Fritz hesitated. What could he say? That there was a ghost in his apartment? That's crazy, they wouldn't believe him. Heck, he wasn't sure if he believed it himself right now. He must've been mistaken. There were no such things as ghosts. He probably saw something outside the window that made it look like a face in the glass.

...And now that he had time to rationally think about it among other people, he wasn't feeling as scared and panicked. Besides, he's been through... things a lot scarier than this.

"...Nowhere. I wasn't going anywhere," then he realized that was a silly answer since he was in a rush to get out of the building. He quickly added, "I was just thinking of getting some fresh air."

"Then, you want to hang out in Karma's apartment?"

"Huh?"

"If you want fresh air, I'm about to go get pizza," Garlan said.

"Pizza again?"

"There is no such thing as too much pizza," Jurien said, "And we're also getting wings and breadsticks this time."

"All that grease is going to end up-- mmfph!" Jurien covers Karma's mouth and pushes him upstairs.

"Do us a favor and unlock your door!"

"Haha, let's go," Garlan said as he pulled Fritz with him out the door, "Oh--" The moment they stepped out, Fritz stood face to face with the girl who got injured during the dance competition, Lucette-- if he remembered right, and her dance partner. "Lucette and Rod," Garlan quickly introduced, "C'mon, we gotta hurry to pick up the pizza!"

"R-Right," Fritz smiled at them and hurried after Garlan. He could tell Lucette wanted to say something to him, but the longer he could put this off, the better.

 Probably.

 

"Is everything alright?" Garlan asked as he picked the pizza boxes from the cashier. Fritz ended up carrying the wings and soda.

"Huh?"

"You left all of a sudden while we were at the hospital. And you were in a hurry somewhere before."

"I... I got a message from a... family friend."

"Oh? Everything alright?"

"Y-Yea," there was an uncomfortable feeling in Fritz's stomach. Not the one he got when Lucette looked at him, but a familiar one. The same one as when anyone asked him about what he did after school. No, not just after classes, after fencing practice, too. When anyone asked why he picked to go to a college so close to home instead of somewhere further, somewhere new. "I forgot to tell them I moved to Angielle."

"Really?" Garlan was quiet for a moment, "Fritz, I know we just met yesterday, but... you can talk to me if you need to."

"Um--"

"N-Not saying you have to!" Garlan quickly added, "J-Just if you need to."

Fritz gave him a smile, "Thanks, that means a lot to me."

As they walked, Garlan changed the topics to fencing news, upcoming Olympic news, anything to keep Fritz's mind off things he didn't want to think about. Fritz appreciated that. That was when Fritz noticed the tiny shop. A split second of looking away from Garlan while he talked.

It was a tiny space, barely larger than a corridor and could probably fit only three people in the store at a time. Through the glass door, Fritz saw a man sitting behind the counter placing cards on a table. _Tarot card readings?_

The man suddenly looked up and made eye contact with Fritz. Then, he smiled and gave Fritz a wave. Startled, Fritz waved back.

"Tinkerbell Exorcisms?" Garlan read the store sign. He had noticed Fritz's attention drift toward the shop and looked at it himself. "A fairy is the last thing I'd expect an exorcist to name their business after."

"Maybe it's not an actual exorcist? Maybe he's just a magician or a fortune teller?"

Garlan frowned and looked at the sign again, "...Right. Exorcism is still a great name to go with when your store has nothing to do with exorcists."

Fritz laughed as they walked past the store, "I see your point."

Exorcism.

This had to be a coincidence, right? He just had the thought that there might be a ghost in his apartment and now he runs into an exorcism store... business... company... er, he ran into an exorcist. It was just coincidence, not fate trying to say something to him. Ghosts don't exist.

 

"You really thought you could have a party without me?!" a voice yelled the moment Fritz and Garlan walked through the front door of the building.

"Damn, we were so close."

"...Is that Rumpel?" Fritz asked. He had met the doctor for the first time earlier today during practice. He was the onsite sports doctor for the Olympic fencing team and since they were still in the middle of practicing, he was the doctor for all the potential Olympians, too.

"I guess we did accidentally ditch him," Garlan said nervously as they made it to the third floor, "Food's here!"

"Great," Jurien said as she helped put the food on the dining table. As soon as she opened up the container holding the breadsticks, Lucette grabbed two and stuffed each into Karma and Rumpel's mouths.

"Mmmff!!"

"Shut up, boys."

"Wow," Fritz mumbled as he took the last open seat in the dining room... which was right next to Lucette.

Oh, crap.

She looked at him and the same uneasy feeling came back. This time, he was able to trace what it was-- _guilt_. What did he have to feel guilty for? For running away when she twisted her ankle at the dance competition? No, he ran away then cause of the same feeling.

"Hey," her greeting broke his thoughts and she gave him a small smile. Fritz thought there was something sad in her smile.

"Oh, um, hey," he responded, then looked around at everyone else, who were already in conversations with each other. Lucette must've really wanted to talk with him.

"V-varg, right?" she mumbled. Fritz guessed that she didn't know how to start the conversation, either, "How do you like Angielle so far?"

Fritz blinked. Varg? Is that a name? The question was certainly directed at him since everyone else has been in Angielle for a while. "Varg?" Fritz asked, "Is that a name or a greeting?" And immediately afterward, he felt pretty stupid for asking, but...

Lucette blinked, "You're not Varg?"

So... maybe asking was important after all. He shook his head, "No. My name is Fritz."

Lucette's face clouded with confusion, "But, you look just like... Everyone else also... Did I know a Fritz?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met before--" Fritz stopped and looked at his hand. He was... shaking? No, it wasn't him. The table was shaking. The glasses with soda were shaking. He looked around the table. Everyone was still chatting happily with each other. Was he imagining this?

"S-Sorry, Fritz... I must've confused you with..." Lucette was talking to him, but she sounded so far away, her voice disappearing as the shaking got stronger. She didn't feel it either??

Fritz searched the room again, trying to find anyone who looked as startled as he felt. None of the seven faces--

Seven?

How many people should be in the room??

Fritz gripped onto the table and counted again. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven--

He stopped at a face between Karma and Rumpel. They were arguing again and sitting next to each other, but there was another person between them. Another person glaring straight at him.

With.

His.

Face.

 

"Don't you fucking dare, Fritz."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The good news is, I've another two chapters already written. The bad news is, I haven't had time to sit down and write anything beyond chapter five... orz


	4. Angielle City, Day 5 pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (yes, a few days are breezed through in this chapter)  
> (for anyone who pays attention to the chapter titles)

_CLATTER_

The dishes and glasses rattled against the table as Fritz stood up.

"Fritz?"

Fritz turned to Karma and when he looked back, the face between him and Rumpel is gone. "..." Fritz couldn't think of what to say. To make matters worse, everyone was looking at him now. "I... think I left the stove on at my apartment, I'm going to run up and check on it quick," he lied.

"Wow, yea, please do," Karma said, "I don't want the place to burn down!"

"I'll be right back!" Fritz hurried out of Karma's apartment and up to his. Only when he got to his door did he realize this was a terrible idea. He suspected that there was a ghost in the building and here he was wandering off on his own away from the rest of the people in the building.

If this was a horror movie, he was sure the audience would be screaming at him for being an idiot.

 _I'll be back downstairs in a minute_ , Fritz thought as he took a seat on the stairs up to the attic, _I just need to think for a bit_.

He was definitely seeing and hearing things. And it couldn't be real, _could it_? It was just left over fear from back home. Probably.

 But he never felt anything like this back home. Even when someone was watching his every move back home, he would turn around and find someone there. Even when he was getting the crap kicked out of him during practice, he could move and defend himself.

Here... things made less sense.

Did this happen to the previous occupant? Actually, it shouldn't matter. The "ghost" showed up in Karma's apartment, too. Can ghosts move between floors? Everyone would know about it and have moved out. Maybe it was all in his head.

"What is going on?" Fritz mumbled as he buried his head in his arms, "I've been here for two days, what do you want from me?"

As if on cue, Fritz felt the someone's presence beside him.

This time, he felt someone whisper into his ear, "I hate you so much."

 

"Fritz?" Rumpel shook him lightly and Fritz woke with a start. He was still sitting in the stairway. "Why are you here?" Rumpel asked as he knelt down and sat on the step below him, "Did you pass out?"

"I... sorry. I think I did," Fritz looked around, gathered his bearings. He was thinking about what he had seen, felt, and heard in the past day just before... he heard the ghost again. The ghost said...

 _I hate you so much_.

Does that make any sense? Did he do something in the past that could make a ghost hold a grudge against him? There's a high chance that...

_Oh my God, I'm really considering the fact that there is a ghost here._

"I'll be right down," Fritz said as he pulled himself up.

"No way man, we didn't even bring drinks to that party, you should rest up."

"No, I--" Fritz caught himself before he continued, _there's a ghost in this apartment and for some reason it really hates me and I don't want to be alone_. Somehow, he had the feeling that wouldn't go over well with Dr. Rumpel. "I'm really okay, I want to hang out with everyone."

"Nuh-Uh," Rumpel crossed his arms and blocked Fritz from heading downstairs, "Even off the clock, you're still one of my patients. There's no way I'm letting you get yourself sick when you've just started training!"

"But--"

"No, buts! Get some rest! You're not missing out on much anyways, everyone's getting ready to leave soon."

If there was an argument he _wasn't_ going to win, it was one with their sports doctor.

"...Okay."

"Good," Rumpel said, but didn't move. After half a minute, Rumpel waved Fritz toward his apartment, "Go on."

...Looks like he didn't have a choice. Fritz nodded and walked into his apartment. Then, to his shock, Rumpel walked in as well. "...Rumpel, what are you doing?"

"Making sure you get adequate rest," Rumpel stretched, "I wanted to stay over anyways, Garlan can drive all of us tomorrow."

 _He doesn't want to be here_ , Fritz thought, _he's just forcing himself to make sure I'm not sick for practice tomorrow._ After all, Rumpel didn't even have a change of clothes and it wasn't as though they had alcohol at their little party. "Okay," Fritz agreed, "You can take the couch. I think I have an extra comforter in the closet."

"Great, thanks, Fritz!"

In retrospect, Rumpel staying here was a good thing. After all, the ghost only showed up when he was alone. Maybe it wouldn't appear if Rumpel was staying with him. He may be in a different room, but at least Rumpel could be there to help him if he was being choked again. Fritz went into the bedroom and got a pillow and comforter for Rumpel. "Here you go," he handed them to Rumpel once he walked back out to the living room.

"Great, good night!"

"Good night!"

 

 Fritz woke with a start in the middle of the night. He glanced at his alarm clock to find that it was four in the morning. "It was a dream," he mumbled as he held his head in his hands. He was miles away from that city, from that building, from what happened in that room. Yet, every time he closed his eyes, he still saw the stains on the carpet and heard the screams in his ears. "It was a dream, it was a dream..." he continued to mumble.

It happened.

There was nothing he could do about it.

All he can do is make sure it n-never happens again.

Just as he was calming down, he felt a presence beside him on the bed. The mattress dipped slightly and Fritz instinctively reached out to grab the person and put them in a chokehold.  "Oof!" he fell forward into the blankets in an awkward position. There was no one there.

"Who's there?" Fritz raised his voice slightly. Not too loudly, it was the middle of the night, "What do you want from me? Why are you doing this?"

He felt a dip in the bed again, this time in front of him. He didn't see anyone, however, and he didn't see any change in the bed. He only felt it.

"Why do you hate me?" the temperature in the room immediately dropped a few degrees colder, "--!" Fritz felt himself pushed down onto the bed and he felt something around his neck again.

"..." he wasn't being choked this time. Just held down.

"Shut up," Fritz heard the voice hiss in his ear, "I don't want to pity you."

Fritz blinked and when he opened his eyes again, it was morning and Rumpel was knocking on his door to wake him.

 

Fritz felt drained for the rest of the week. By now, there was undeniable proof that there was a ghost in his apartment. Or building. Thank God it never showed up anywhere else. As a result, Fritz was spending more and more time away from his apartment. He considered moving, but having just signed a lease and given how pricy apartments in Angielle were, he wouldn't risk trying to move.

He managed to stay awake for 48 hours before crashing in the middle of their fourth practice session. He spent those 48 hours wandering between bars, cafes, and malls. Although the ghost hadn't shown up since, his own paranoia was getting the best of him. He kept hearing screams and seeing bloodstains and he _knows_ that wasn't any ghost's fault.

"When was the last time you slept?" Rumpel asked as Fritz rested on the bleachers.

"I slept last night."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not!" Fritz gave him a smile, but when Rumpel crossed his arms and glared back, he shrunk back, "I took a nap around midnight at a bar. That counts as sleep."

Rumpel narrowed his eyes and took a seat beside Fritz on the bleachers. Fritz now had a view of all the matches going on in the gym. His three teammates had started a match with another team, which was fine. Someone just has to go twice to make sure the fourth member of the other team got a chance to practice.

"A healthy person needs 8 to 10 hours of sleep," Rumpel said, "I'm saying this not only as an Olympic doctor, but also as a friend."

Fritz shrunk back again, a heavy feeling constricting his chest, "I've known you for less than a week. I'd much prefer you as my doctor."

Rumpel was silent for a moment. Fritz didn't bother looking at the hurt expression that he _knew_ was on Rumpel's face, "That's fine. I can talk as a doctor, too. You need sleep. What's stopping you from sleeping?"

"..."

"A doctor is allowed to ask their patient these questions, too."

 Fritz stared down at his hands, "I've been having nightmares."

"I see. You can't just forgo sleep for it, though."

"What should I do, then?"

"Your mind is overworking itself. Some breathing exercises before you go to bed may help. I can send you some videos that teach you how to do it."

"Really? You're going to prescribe me Youtube videos?"

"I know right? Modern technology is amazing, they even cure sleeping disorders."

Fritz let out a chuckle and nodded, "I'll try and get some sleep tonight."

"You better. If you pass out again, I'll sleep in your apartment for a month."

"Wow, scary threat. Deal."

 

So after practice was over, Fritz considered booking a hotel room and spending the night there. But once again, he didn't have the money to do that. He briefly considered asking Karma, but quickly decided that he didn't want to owe money to someone he knew for less than a week. Still contemplating, he decided to stay away from the apartment for as long as possible (the usual). He promised Rumpel he'd get some sleep, but he could still push that off to the evening.

Fritz bought a Monster from the deli a block away from the gym and decided to walk aimlessly around the city. He already told his teammates he wouldn't be carpooling home with them and that he would be fine. His own two feet could take him anywhere and once he got caffeine and/or sugar, he was set for a few more hours.

"I'll call you in three hours to make sure you didn't pass out on the street," Karma said before they drove away, which Fritz thought was really kind of him. Jurien had said that he was protective of all his friends. Did Karma think of him as a friend? It's been less than a week, though...

"Ah," Fritz found himself outside of Tinkerbell Exorcism again. There were a number of items on display in the front window. Tarot cards, top hats, playing cards, toy rabbits, and flowers. Uh... was this an exorcism store or a magic trick store?

_Ding!_

"Hello," the door opened and the man Fritz saw last time greeted him, "I saw you standing out here for a while. Do you want to come in?"

"What?" Fritz shook his head, "No! I'm just passing by!"

"People look at my store for two reasons," he held up two fingers in a peace sign, "They either have an interest in the occult or they have a problem they think an exorcist can solve."

"...I can also just be passing by."

He smiled at Fritz, "Why don't you come in and tell me about your problem?"

"...? What makes you think I have a problem? I could just be interested in the occult."

"If you were interested in the occult, you would've admitted it rather than deny your interest."

"..." he suppose he was caught, "...I can't afford your rates."

"I haven't shown you my rates."

"I'm broke."

"I actually don't charge until I start giving you advice. Come in, let's talk," he urged, "Seriously, it's boring sitting in here by myself all day."

He really was caught. Fritz shrugged and let out a sigh before giving him a smile, "Alright."

"Is that done? I don't want you spilling it inside my shop."

"The Monster? I'm halfway through. It's okay, I'm careful."

 

"My name is Waltz," he said and shook Fritz's hand as he sat in his seat again. Fritz sat in the chair on the other side of the table.

"Fritz."

Now that he was inside, Fritz noticed a door in the back wall. There was more to this shop on the other side.

"So, tell me about your problem."

"You're not going to believe me."

"I work as an exorcist, I believe things that most people won't believe."

"Right..." Fritz let out another sigh as he set the Monster on the table, "...I think there's a ghost in my apartment."

"And why do you think that?"

"You said you'd believe me!"

"And I do," Waltz nodded as he picked up his deck of cards and started absentmindedly shuffling them, "But ghosts actually don't show themselves very often. If they do, they're doing so for a specific reason. So tell me why you think so. Have things been moving around your apartment?"

Fritz frowned and took a deep breath. ...There was a laundry list of reasons why he thought there was a ghost in his apartment. "So to start with, I sometimes feel somebody near me," he recalls his first night in Angielle, "Their breath on me, arms near me. ...They sit on my bed." He paused and looked around. There are bloodstains on the floor. He blinked. They're gone. "And I had a nightmare where a man sat on me and tried to choke me. Then, I saw him at a party in another apartment."

"He moved out of your apartment?"

Fritz nodded. "I think I heard him say he hates me. Whenever I do see him, he looks angry."

Waltz leaned back in his chair, "That's not good. Did you do anything to anger a ghost?"

"I don't think so," Fritz swallowed. Until now, he didn't think ghosts existed. But if they do, "If you mean whether I pissed off people who died, then maybe I did."

"Just to make sure, you didn't kill anyone, did you?"

"N-No, I didn't!"

"..." Waltz narrowed his eyes at Fritz, "Then, do you think the ghost is one of those people?"

"No, he doesn't look like any of them."

"Right, you've seen how he looks. Who does he look like? How is he dressed?"

"Dressed... Wow, now that I think about it, he's got some old clothing on. Like things I'd see in history books," Fritz paused, "And... he looks like _me_. In fact, the first thing he ever said to me was about how we looked alike."

Waltz tilted his head, "You don't happen to have dead siblings, do you?"

"I'm an only child."

"Ever felt like you were a twin?"

"...No? How do you _feel_ like you were a twin?"

Waltz shrugged, "It happens. When only one of the twins are born, they sometimes just know."

"No, never had those thoughts."

"Well," Waltz licked his lips and looked out the door, "This is where I start charging you if you want advice or an exorcism."

"You're a real exorcist?"

"Of course, why else would I open a store called _Tinkerbell Exorcisms_?"

"...For scamming people?"

Waltz rolled his eyes, "That's just rude."

Fritz let out a chuckle and shrugged, "What are the rates for your advice?"

"Just advice? Ten bucks. If you want me to take a look at your apartment, thirty. Then, depending on the danger, an exorcism is upwards of a hundred dollars."

"Do you have discounts?"

"No, I have to pay the rent."

"How many customers do you even have per month to make enough money to pay the rent?"

"Not enough, I do street magic performances as a side gig."

"Wow," Fritz mumbled as he pulled his wallet from his pocket, "Here's ten bucks. What's your advice?"

"Get an exorcism," Waltz smirked at him.

"Seriously?!"

Waltz laughed, "Yea, I think you should get an exorcism! Especially if the ghost isn't friendly."

"Oh my God, this has been a waste of time. You probably don't even believe me."

"I believe you. I just also believe in making money," Waltz stopped playing with the deck of cards and pushed it to the side, "But since you don't seem to want to get an exorcism or be able to afford one, I'll tell you not to be alone in your apartment. And also do some research on that building."

"Huh?"

"You said he's dressed in older fashion. That means he's been there for a while. You're, what, twenty? Twenty-five?"

"...Twenty-three."

"You shouldn't tell people that so easily, ages hold power."

"Then don't ask," Fritz snapped back. Then he reeled back and apologized. ...It must be the lack of sleep.

"Since he looks like you, I'm guessing he might be your ancestor or something? Maybe a jilted lover of your grandmother."

"Oh, when I said older clothing, I meant _really_ old. He looks like he's from the dark ages."

"What?" Waltz's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"And my family's not from Angielle. Both sets of my grandparents immigrated to the capital where my Mom and Dad grew up. We don't have any history in Angielle."

"Well, there's still a chance that you have an ancestor in Angielle. How much do you know of your family tree?"

"...My Dad will know more."

"Ask him, find out as much as you can. And don't confront the ghost. That's all the advice I can give you for ten bucks."

"Right, thanks. Will do," Fritz said sarcastically, but gave him a smile.

"See, that wasn't so bad, right? It's good to talk with someone."

Fritz was silent for a moment, then he pictured the bloodstains on the wall behind Waltz, "Yea. It's good."

They chatted for a little while longer, then Fritz decided it was time to leave. It was already late afternoon and if he was to follow Waltz's advice, he'd better hit the library before they closed.

"Wait," Waltz said just as Fritz stood from his chair, "You have nothing else bothering you?"

"Huh?" what was he getting at?

"When I saw you out there, I thought you were going to ask about something else."

"...? What do you mean?"

"You can deny it all you want, but I can see all the chains knotted around you. It must be a heavy weight."

"..."

"But it's not your fault," Waltz narrowed his eyes, "They don't blame you, they're struggling so hard to get away. To haunt--"

_WHAM!_

Fritz slammed his hand down on the table, "Please. Stop. Talking." Waltz closed his mouth and remained silent. Fritz took a shaky breath and let his lips melt into a practiced smile, "Thanks for your advice. I'll be going now."

"No problem. Thank you for your business," Waltz said as Fritz walked out, "Come back anytime."

 

"..."

"I know you'll be back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't forget this story, I just hadn't sat down to write more for it recently. I had a talk with someone about the plot and found the urge to write more.


End file.
